At What Cost? Interrogating Cognitive-Behavioral Programs in Prison

This article describes the issues inherent in prison cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) programs using a case study from the author’s previous research as an example, assesses the state of the literature on these programs today, and offers practical suggestions for researchers and practitioners to counteract the troubling content these programs produce. These programs represent a new form of discipline impacting on the stories prisoners are supposed to tell about themselves and their offences – about their narrative identity (discursive discipline). The article concludes with the recommendation that researchers qualify their studies investigating whether or not CBT programs in prison reduce recidivism by also investigating the non-material costs of these programs to their incarcerated participants.